Isla Fisher Making 'The Switch' To 'Jackie Brown' Prequel

By
Cain Rodriguez
|
The PlaylistNovember 15, 2012 at 10:20AM

Let’s straighten some things out. Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 film “Jackie Brown” -- which starred Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson -- was based on Elmore Leonard’s 1992 novel “Rum Punch.” Now first time filmmaker Dan Schechter is mounting an adaptation of Leonard’s 1978 novel “The Switch,” which follows younger versions of the characters portrayed by De Niro and Jackson, who will now be portrayed by in their youth by John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def). Got it? Good. Isla Fisher is the latest actor in talks to join what will essentially be a prequel to Tarantino’s film.

Let’s straighten some things out. Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 film “Jackie Brown” -- which starred Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson -- was based on Elmore Leonard’s 1992 novel “Rum Punch.” Now first time filmmaker Dan Schechter is mounting an adaptation of Leonard’s 1978 novel “The Switch,” which follows younger versions of the characters portrayed by De Niro and Jackson, who will now be portrayed by in their youth by John Hawkes and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def). Got it? Good. Isla Fisher is the latest actor in talks to join what will essentially be a prequel to Tarantino’s film.

The untitled movie will follow Ordell and Louis (Hawkes and Bey) as they kidnap a corrupt Detroit real estate developer’s wife (to be played by Jennifer Aniston). Their plan is complicated when the husband refuses to pay a ransom for the safe return of his wife.

Fisher would play Melanie, the same role Bridget Fonda played in “Jackie Brown,” which is weird since Fisher is now older than Fonda was when she played the role in 1997. Then again, Hawkes is only a year younger than De Niro was during the filming of Tarantino’s film. Ty Burrell co-stars as witness to the kidnapping and Dennis Quaid, who was in talks to join, has dropped out due to his conflicting schedule with his new CBS series “Vegas.”

At the very least Elmore Leonard fans will have another adaptation to watch and “The Switch” could turn out to be an interesting companion piece to “Jackie Brown.” [Variety]